Couchtripping: Beat the winter doldrums with ‘Adore’

This week I’m kicking off a new series for all of us who want to be on an “On Location Vacation” but for whatever reason are stuck at home. The series, which I’m tentatively calling Couchtripping, will take a look at the best travel movies and TV shows to watch and live through vicariously.

I can’t think of a better movie to start this series than last year’s Adore.

The film focuses on Lil (Naomi Watts) and Roz (Robin Wright), two best friends who live in an idyllic town on the coast of Australia. Lil’s husband is dead and Roz’s husband (Ben Mendelsohn) works out of town which means the women are on their own with their adult sons, Ian (Xavier Samuel) and Tom (James Frecheville). The boys, who the women think “look like young gods”, come onto each others moms over the course of one summer and the four end up in romantic relationships.

I’ll admit the storyline was much funnier when Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake did it on SNL but on a day like today, when the Northeast is in the grips of a blizzard and the mercury never rises above 20 degrees, Adore is the perfect remedy to the cold.

The movie was primarily filmed in Seal Rocks, a beach town in New South Wales, just north of Sydney. Seal Rocks is known for being pretty isolated which has kept development at bay, and the beaches pristine. The area is popular with surfers, seals, and dolphins, all of whom have the crystal clear waters to themselves most days.

Adore captures all of this perfectly. While watching the movie you really feel like you’re on a remote beach with the sun on your face. Too bad it also makes you think about your son dating your best friend, or what it would be like to sleep with your bestie’s mom, ugh. I suggest focusing only on the surf and the sand and fast-forwarding through the really icky parts.